For my leadership project I spent a week in Oregon with my Youth Group doing various service projects. One being Project Transformation, a literacy program for at risk elementary school kids. During this project, we helped younger kids read a choice book. We would encourage them to sound out words themselves and participated in other activities that helped the kids focus and learn. In addition, w e cleaned books at The Children’s Book Bank; a place for donated books to be examined,…

I hope to be the kind of black belt that someone of any rank can feel comfortable around. I know that when I first started, black belts looked intimidating and I was terrified of messing up in front of them. I want to be a black belt that makes others feel confident and strong. Encouraging them to not be afraid to reach their own goals. This way, they can continue practicing and pass along the advice and lessons they’ve learned on their journeys to others as well.

Upon receiving my black belt, I would want to continue training to improve my flexibility, endurance, confidence, and focus. I would also want to become more precise in doing my forms and in sparring. Practicing Martial Arts has provided me with skills I never thought about seriously. Such as, knowing I can defend myself in an unwanted situation. Although it’s nice to feel safe, my main reason to keep practicing is because I simply enjoy it. Taking part in a physical activity is what I do to…

Katherine Johnson is an African-American mathematician whose work as a “computer” at NASA resulted in the first U.S. manned space flights. “Computers” were women who performed calculations by hand with pencil and graph paper. This often took more than a week to complete and filled numerous notebooks with data and formulas. In 1962, Johnson did…